xiv, 204 pages ; 24 cm

Over the past half-century, the social terrain of health and illness has been transformed. What were once considered normal human events and common human problems -- birth, aging, menopause, alcoholism, and obesity -- are now viewed as medical conditions. For better or worse, medicine increasingly permeates aspects of daily life. Building on more than three decades of research, Peter Conrad explores the changing forces behind this trend with case studies of short stature, social anxiety, "male menopause," erectile dysfunction, adult ADHD, and sexual orientation. He examines the emergence of and changes in medicalization, the consequences of the expanding medical domain, and the implications for health and society. He finds in recent developments -- such as the growing number of possible diagnoses and biomedical enhancements -- the future direction of medicalization

Includes bibliographical references (pages 171-196) and index

Medicalization : context, characteristics, and changes -- Extension : men and the medicalization of andropause, baldness, and erectile dysfunction -- Expansion : from hyperactive children to adult ADHD -- Enhancement : human growth hormone and the temptations of biomedical enhancement -- Continuity : homosexuality and the potential for remedicalization -- Measuring medicalization : categories, numbers, and treatment -- The shifting engines of medicalization -- Medicalization and its discontents

Self-Renewing 2017

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